Good Thoughts About Life

When my appendix bursts, my parents, my brother, and even my fiancé are all too busy celebrating my sister's birthday. I'm outside the operating room, frantically calling every family member I can think of to sign the consent form, but every call is either ignored or hung up on. After hanging up on me, my fiancé, Joel Graham, texts back. "Sophie, stop being dramatic. It's Yvette's 18th birthday today. Whatever it is can wait until after the party." I quietly set my phone down and sign the consent form myself. It's the ninety-ninth time they've chosen Yvette Norton, my sister, over me. This time, I choose not to care. I'll stop letting their favoritism hurt me. Instead, I'll do everything they ask of me without complaint. They'll all think I've finally learned to be obedient, and they'll never realize that I'm preparing to leave them for good.

We'd been legally married for seven years, yet my CEO "fiance", Jared Lane, had ditched me at the altar thirteen times. At our first wedding, his assistant, Maeve Fischer, scraped her leg. I spent the entire day waiting alone at the ceremony. At our second wedding, he heard she was sick and tossed the wedding ring away to rush to her side. On every wedding day after that, some accident would conveniently happen to her. By the 13th time he bailed, I had had enough and decided to walk away. But when I found comfort in another man's arms, Jared lost his mind trying to win me back.

I knew that my father did not like me since I was young. When I wanted to commit suicide to end the pain caused by my illness, he was celebrating another child’s birthday. He hated my mother and me alongside her. So, when I told him that I was sick, he did not believe me. “Is this your new tactic to get money from me?” No one believed that the daughter of the Powell family could die because she was too poor to pay the hospital fees. My father did not believe it either. However, when he saw my dead body, the famous actor who hated his daughter actually went insane.

The day Pedro Palmer's mom was supposed to get my kidney, I ghosted. He waited outside the OR for ten hours. What did he get? A death notice. After that, he went full beast mode on his career. Five years later, his company blew up. Media darling. CEO. Power suit. And yeah, he was holding another girl's hand, all smiles for the cameras. "Do you have anything to say to Ruth Rackham? We heard she supported your early days," a reporter asked. Not even a pause. "Yeah. Thanks for vanishing. For letting my mom die with questions. For wrecking me. She taught me not to trust anyone." He stepped in closer, eyes cold. "This is what you wanted, Ruth? Too bad. Love's gone. And you? Not even worth my hate." That's when Nellie Lyon, the reporter, went pale. "Mr. Palmer... Ruth Rackham died five years ago. She was the test subject. She donated her body—before she passed..."

Mary Preston and her family fled to another country, leaving everything behind. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces, in a foreign land, speaking a language she didn’t understand. A few years later, at the tender age of 19, she ended up married to Maximus Palmer, the grandson of the powerful Catherine Palmer. Mary loved him with all her heart, but he never felt the same. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. One misunderstanding after another pushed their marriage into a downward spiral, filled with infidelity, abuse, and endless disillusionment. For years, Mary lived under the shadow of another woman, enduring the pain until she finally found the courage to ask for a divorce. Her decision took Maximus by surprise, and he refused to let her go. But fate had other plans, and a tragic event forced the divorce to happen sooner than anyone expected. Afterward, Mary tried to rebuild her life, hoping to find love again and happiness that would last. But the scars from her past made it hard for her to trust or believe in love again. She faced many moments of anguish, sadness, and loneliness. Yet, through it all, she slowly began to find herself and step back into the light. Perhaps this time, she wouldn’t have to face everything alone. Maybe someone new would come into her life, someone who could be her rock and her reason to live. Although she learned that the past was never truly left behind, she also discovered that with a strong foundation, even the most broken things could still stand tall. Life had taught her about the three kinds of love: the one that teaches you how to love, the one you wished was yours but wasn’t meant to be, and the one you never saw coming that heals your wounds and brings true happiness.

After receiving the news that her husband had died during a mission, my sister-in-law collapsed from the shock. When she woke up, she'd lost her memory. She clung to my husband and refused to let go. Our husbands were twin brothers. The doctor said she couldn't be triggered, so my husband and mother-in-law sat me down and begged me to play along until she got over this. Every time I brought it up again, they shut me down. "This is only until she gets her memory back!" So I watched as my husband and his widowed sister-in-law eat, sleep, and live under the same roof. Even our daughter could only stand by and watch her cousin call him "Daddy". One day, my daughter spiked a high fever and wouldn't wake up. I begged my husband to take us to the hospital. Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law went berserk over it and threatened to kill herself. In the chaos, I was stabbed in the heart by the scissors she swung around. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day my husband agreed to play the role of a substitute husband.

My mate, David Hayes, who is the Alpha, has been cold to me ever since he claimed me as Luna of the pack. He assumes that I gave him a dose of pheromones under the full moon. That was why I got the chance to mate with him and ended up being pregnant so quickly. So, as an Alpha, and for the sake of his reputation, he decides to mark me. That is how I became his "mystery Luna". The pack only knows that he has a Luna, but no one knows it's me. When I gave birth to our pup the next year, he showed no interest in the slightest. When a lupine maid brings the newborn to him, he glances at the pup with disgust and turns away. "Let's hope he's nothing like his mother—scheming, manipulative, and a disgrace to the pack!" I lie in bed, weak and exhausted, but the tears won't stop. … Today, David's childhood friend, Sophia Sinclair, returned to the pack. The moment he heard the news, he lit up with excitement. That night, after coming back from Sophia's place, drunk out of his mind, he pulled our pup into his arms. My son, Joseph Hayes, was over the moon. He snuggled closer to him and whispered to me, "Mom, he hugged me on his own… Does that mean he accepts me now?" I held him tight, tears stinging my eyes. "His mate has come back. We're leaving the pack." What he didn't know was that the healer had already told me I have Wolf Spirit Degeneration, which leaves me only three days to live. Before I die, I'll take Joseph to my parents, where he'll be loved and cared for, and not hated and abandoned by his own father. In three days, David will never see me or our pup again—and for the rest of his life.

My boyfriend is a forensic artist. He was forced to make a harrowing decision to save his first love. At the killer's demand, he created a portrait from a photo—he never realized that the young girl in the photo was me in my childhood. Two weeks later, the police investigate a grisly bomb explosion and dismemberment case. The victim's identity was unrecognizable, and the investigation dragged on for days as the authorities desperately searched the blast site, looking for my remains. After three days and nights, they finally recovered enough of my remains to reconstruct my face. When my boyfriend unknowingly brought the shattered fragments back to life with his art, he was confronted with a horrifying truth—one that drove him to the edge of madness.

That winter, our whole family went skiing in Aespen, Amestia. It was a popular spot for werewolf nobles and the wealthy. Then, the avalanche struck. My father's first instinct was to scoop up Summer—his sleeping adopted daughter—and flee. My mother, panicked, still made sure to grab the stray puppy Summer had found. They returned to the Moonshadow Pack that same night, posting a flood of photos online and rejoicing over their miraculous escape. Not one of them remembered me. Their biological daughter was still buried beneath the snow, waiting for rescue. When I was finally rescued, I did not look back. I took my mentor's offer to study abroad and left the pack behind. I moved to Cascade City to study medicine. No more pleading, no more shrinking myself in hopes of earning back my family's love. Yet they only seemed more disgruntled. "Rose, why aren't you competing with Summer for our attention anymore?"

Before Andrew and I formed our mate bond, I overheard him and his Wolven Clan brothers mocking me: "My Luna must serve my family and dedicate herself to the Blood Moon Pack." "Lina is obedient and devoted—she loves me with all her heart, keeps the pack running smoothly, and takes care of my mother. She works tirelessly, giving her all to my family." "However, Louise? She cherishes her dreams and craves freedom. She's a carefree spirit, meant for the vast open plains, not to be tied down and become a dull housewife." I did not argue or shed tears. Instead, I left the Blood Moon Pack without a word. Andrew assumed I was just sulking nearby, unaware that I had traveled far to the Northland. In the Northland, I not only rekindled my dreams but also found my true mate—the one who truly loves me. Now, I am his Luna Queen.